Can you hurt your knees by running on concrete?

Continuously hitting your feet on the ground can cause harm to your knees, hips, and lower back. Injury risks are considerable if you run for a long period on a hard surface. Concrete floors are hard and they can take a toll on the body because of their inflexible surface. Standing, walking, or running for a long time on concrete can initiate or cause knee pain.

Rabinder Kumar, PT

Yes, there certainly is increased shock placed through the feet and legs while running on hard surfaces. Doing so without footwear on will have the highest amounts of forces generated through the leg, as the feet and muscles of the lower leg absorb the impact with the ground. Wearing shoes while doing so will reduce the impact through the feet and legs while impacting the ground. The soles of the shoes have materials in them that aid in shock absorption. It is not recommended for people with foot, ankle and pain in the legs not to run barefoot on hard surfaces as this may aggravate the symptoms. Using orthotics inside your shoes will further decrease the shock placed through the leg when making impact with the ground due to its shock-absorbing materials. Increased shock absorption qualities in orthotics prove effective for many conditions of pain arising in the body.